Biography - Chandrika Kumaratunga Lynda Chalker UK Minister for Overseas Development 1989-97 A long-serving Member of the British Parliament, Lynda Chalker served as Minister for Overseas Development, and Minister for Africa and the Commonwealth for over 11 years. She is also a Founder Trustee of the Investment Climate Facility for Africa. READ FULL BIO President of the Confederation of Switzerland 2003 & 2008 Pascal Couchepin twice served as President of the Swiss Federal Council (President of the Confederation). During his eleven years in government, he served as Minister of the Economy and then Minister of Home Affairs, covering social welfare, science and education. READ FULL BIO US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs 1981-89 As US Assistant Secretary of State, Chester Crocker led the diplomacy that produced the peace treaties signed by Angola, Cuba, and South Africa in 1988. These agreements resulted in Namibia’s independence and the withdrawal of foreign forces from Southern Africa. He chaired the US Institute of Peace Board from 1992 to 2004.

READ FULL BIO Marzuki Darusman Attorney General, Indonesia 1999- 2001 A veteran human rights campaigner, Marzuki Darusman was Attorney General under Indonesia’s first democratically elected government and pursued the prosecution of many cases of corruption, mass murder, and human rights abuses that symbolized the inequities of the three-decade rule of Suharto. READ FULL BIO Member of the US House of Representatives 1979-1987 Majority Leader of the US Senate One of the longest serving Senate Democratic leaders in US history and the only one to serve twice as both Majority and Minority Leader, Tom Daschle helped to navigate the Senate through some of its most historic economic and national security challenges. READ FULL BIO Alvaro de Soto UN Under-Secretary-General 1999-2007 During his 25 years at the UN, Alvaro de Soto mediated the 1992 peace accords ending the 10-year war in El Salvador; prepared the first-ever comprehensive plan for a settlement in Cyprus in 2004; and was the chief Middle East envoy from 2005 to 2007.

READ FULL BIO Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency 1997-2009 Vice President, Egypt 2013 Mohamed ElBaradei is an Egyptian law scholar and diplomat who served as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency from 1997 to 2009 and as Vice President of Egypt on an acting basis in 2013. He and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. READ FULL BIO Foreign Minister, Côte d'Ivoire 1990-99 Secretary General, OAU 2001 Chairman, AU Commission 2002-3 A long-serving diplomat, Amara Essy served his country as Foreign Minister before his appointment as Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), and then Chairman of the Commission of the African Union (AU). READ FULL BIO Gareth Evans Foreign Minister of Australia 1988–96 Gareth Evans was a Cabinet Minister in Australian Labor governments for thirteen years, including Foreign Minister 1988-96, and President of the International Crisis Group from 2000-2009.

He has played prominent international roles on nuclear issues and developoing the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ principle. READ FULL BIO Vicente Fox President, Mexico 2000-06 As President of Mexico, Vicente Fox took steps to improve the Mexican economy through banking reforms, tackling crime and corruption and improving trade relations with the US. He also sought to combat drug trafficking and illegal immigration while working to strengthen the rights of Mexico’s indigenous peoples. READ FULL BIO Louise Fréchette UN Deputy Secretary General 1998-2006 A long-time Canadian diplomat, Louise Fréchette became the first Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations for eight years. During this time she assisted the Secretary-General in the full range of his responsibilities. READ FULL BIO Enrique Iglesias Foreign Minister of Uruguay 1985-1988 A former Foreign Minister of Uruguay, Enrique Iglesias also served as the President of the Inter-American Development Bank for 17 years, during which time he increased the institution’s resources and expanded its activities to become the leading institution for multilateral development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean.

READ FULL BIO Chandrika Kumaratunga President, Sri Lanka 1994-2005 As President of Sri Lanka Chandrika Kumaratunga oversaw the privatization of many state enterprises, the enactment of laws to tackle state corruption and the pursuit of a free market economy with a human face. She also tried to move relations with the Tamil Tigers from confrontation to negotiated peace. READ FULL BIO Ketumile Masire President of Botswana 1980-1998 Ketumile Masire was Botswana’s second President and served for 18 years. A leading figure in his country’s independence movement and then in the new government, Sir Ketumile played a crucial role in facilitating and protecting Botswana’s steady financial growth and development. READ FULL BIO Donald F. McHenry US Ambassador to the United Nations 1979-81 A long-serving diplomat, Donald F. McHenry served as US Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and represented his country in a number of international fora, including leading the US negotiations on the question of Namibia.

READ FULL BIO António Mascarenhas Monteiro President of Cape Verde 1991-2001 António Monteiro was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Cape Verde, having served two terms. Prior to his election, he was President of the Supreme Court and led several international delegations, including one to the OAU Conference that drafted the African Charter on Human Rights. READ FULL BIO Prime Minister of Jamaica 1992-2006 PJ Patterson was Prime Minister of Jamaica for 14 years. His policies of economic liberalization and free-market reforms during a time of economic difficulty for Jamaica attracted substantial foreign direct investment. He vastly improved the physical infrastructure and initiated programmes for social transformation. READ FULL BIO US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs 1997-2000 Thomas R. Pickering served as US Ambassador to Russia, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria and Jordan, and also as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. As US Representative to the United Nations during the First Gulf War, he played a lead role in the UN Security Council’s response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.

READ FULL BIO President,Timor-Leste 2007-12 Prime Minister 2006-07 José Manuel Ramos-Horta was President of Timor Leste from 2007 to 2012, having previously served as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. He was the exiled spokesman for the East Timorese resistance during the years of the Indonesian occupation (1975 to 1999). He is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and is currently the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in Guinea-Bissau. READ FULL BIO Fidel Valdez Ramos President of the Philippines 1992-98 As President of the Philippines, Fidel Ramos’s policies and programmes to foster national reconciliation and unity led to major peace agreements with Muslim separatists, communist insurgents and military rebels, which renewed investor confidence in the Philippines economy. READ FULL BIO Elisabeth Rehn UN Under-Secretary-General 1998-99 Finland's Elisabeth Rehn was the world's first female Minister of Defence and later served as the UN Under-Secretary-General in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Her engagement for the situation of women in war is well documented and together with Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, is the co-author of the UN-Report "Women War Peace”. READ FULL BIO UN Special Advisor to Secretary-General, 2003-06 Lebanese Minister of Culture, 2000-03 After serving as Lebanese Minister of Culture, Ghassam Salamé was appointed Senior Advisor to the UN Secretary-General, serving also as Political Advisor to the UN Mission in Iraq. An expert in international relations, he is one of the most respected actors and observers of conflict resolution and Middle East politics. READ FULL BIO Salim Ahmed Salim Prime Minister of Tanzania 1984–1985 One of Africa’s most senior diplomats and statesmen, Dr Salim served as Prime Minister of Tanzania, Secretary General of the OAU, President of the UN Security Council in 1976 and of the General Assembly in 1979. He recently served as the African Union’s Special Envoy for Darfur.

READ FULL BIO Federal Chancellor, Austria 2000-07 Foreign Minister 1995-2000 Wolfgang Schüssel was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms and widely regarded as an active reformer in contemporary Austrian politics. READ FULL BIO Defence Minister, India 2001 Finance Minister, India 1996 and 2002-04 The only person to have served as India’s finance minister, foreign minister and defence minister, Jaswant Singh is widely respected for having launched the first free-trade agreement in South Asia’s history, initiated India’s diplomatic opening to Pakistan and reorienting the Indian military with closer ties with the West. READ FULL BIO Secretary General of the Council of the European Union 1999-2009 Best known for his role as Secretary General of the Council of the European Union, Dr. Solana was previously the NATO Secretary General during the Kosovo War, and Foreign Minister of Spain, in which role he chaired the Barcelona Conference, which sought to foster cultural and economic unity in the Mediterranean region.

READ FULL BIO Vice President, Guatemala, 2004-08 Foreign Minister 1996-2000 Prior to his appointment as Vice President, Eduardo Stein served as Guatemala’s Foreign Minister during the country’s peace negotiations and was also involved in the Esquipulas peace process in Central America and the San José Dialogue between Central America and the European Union. READ FULL BIO Cassam Uteem President of Mauritius 1992-2002 Cassam Uteem served as President of Mauritius for ten years and is known for having relentlessly promoted his country's "Unity in Diversity" policies which succeeded in establishing nationak unity and a stable inclusive democracy in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society. READ FULL BIO Chandrika Kumaratunga (Politician) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Chandrika Kumaratunga President of Sri Lanka Female Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was the 5th President of Sri Lanka, serving from 12 November 1994 to 19 November 2005. The daughter of two former Prime Ministers, she was also the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party until the end of 2005.

She is Sri Lanka's only female president to date.… Read More related links A Few Thoughts On Sri Lanka's New Court Huffington Post - Dec 03, 2015 'Sri Lanka has recently announced that it will create a new court to examine abuses which allegedly transpired during the country\'s civil war. The government has noted that this is going to be a domestic mechanism, but hasn\'t ruled out the possibility of some international involvement. The abrupt announcement of this special court came as a surprise to many. Former president <mark>Chandrika Kumaratunga</mark> has stated that the court will commence its work either later this month or in Jan... Angela's Angels And The Political Patriarchy Huffington Post - Sep 27, 2013 'Angela Merkel has again become the most powerful woman in the world. Surveying the global map of female heads of government highlights some surprising realities about emancipation and the patriarchy. \nAngela Merkel has made it to a third term in office.

Not being a fan of her conservative austerity politics and feeling that Germany, not to mention the EU as a whole, needs an injection of progressive radicalism, I had half-wished that the protest Pirate Party would, against the odds, force ... Mini Polls Iii On Oct 8 On Lanka Google News - Aug 26, 2011 'The Nomination paper submitted by an unregistered political party Janatha Balavegaya Pakshaye, which included the names of former President <mark>Chandrika Kumaratunga</mark>&#39;s son Vimukthi Kumaratunga and Daughters name Yashodhara Kumaratunga were rejected along' Cbk Admirer Nominates Vimukthi For K'gala Mc Daily Mirror Google News - Aug 25, 2011 'A nomination paper for the Kurunegala Municipal Council which contained the names of former President <mark>Chandrika Kumaratunga</mark>&#39;s children Yasodara and Vimukthi had been submitted by an alleged âmentally' Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Chandrika Kumaratunga.

CHILDHOOD 1945 Birth Born on June 29, 1945. TEENAGE 1959 14 Years Old He was assassinated in 1959, when Chandrika was fourteen. … Read More Chandrika's mother, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, then became the world's first female prime minister, in 1960. Read Less TWENTIES Show Less … Her sister Sunethra Bandaranaike is a well-known philanthropist and runs the Sunera Trust. Their grandfather, Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranike, was the Maha Mudaliyar, the chief Ceylonese representative and advisor to the Governor of Ceylon during British colonial rule. <br /><br />Chandrika was educated at the St Bridget's Convent, Colombo, and at the Aquinas University College Colombo where she studied for the bachelor of laws. Read Less She gained a scholarship to the University of Paris where she spent five years, graduating from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) in political science and international relations in 1970.

… Read More While in Paris she obtained a diploma in Group Leadership from the same university and was trained as a political journalist at the Le Monde newspaper. Read Less Her PhD studies in Development Economics at the University of Paris 1970â73 were interrupted when she returned to Sri Lanka to enter politics, when her motherâs government had launched a wide-ranging programme of socialist reform and development. … Read More During her days in France, it is reported that Chandrika was active in the Student Revolution of 1968. She is fluent in Sinhala, English and French. Read Less 1972 27 Years Old … Upon returning to Sri Lanka, she enrolled in and became active in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and, in 1974, became an executive committee member of its Women's League. Read Less Following the land reforms in Sri Lanka in 1972â1976, she was the principal director of the Land Reform Commission. THIRTIES Show Less From 1976 to 1977, she was chairman of the Janawasa Commission, which established collective farms.

From 1976 to 1979, she acted as a consultant to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1978 33 Years Old She married film star and Sri Lankan politician Vijaya Kumaratunga (also Kumaranatunga) in 1978. FORTIES 1991 46 Years Old She stayed active in politics leaving the SLFP and supporting her husband's party, the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party. After Kumaratunga was assassinated, she left the country for the UK, working for World Institute for Development Economics Research at the United Nations University in the interim, and not returning until 1991. 1993 48 Years Old On return to Sri Lanka she rejoined SLFP and led her party to a historic and decisive victory at the southern provincial council elections. Kumaratunga was elected as the chief minister of the Western Province of Sri Lanka in 1993 in a landslide election victory. Kumaratunga herself was elected prime minister of a People's Alliance (PA) government from 19 August 1994 and won the presidential election held shortly thereafter in November.

… Read More This ended 17 years of United National Party rule. She appointed her mother to succeed her as prime minister. Early in her term she made conciliatory moves towards the separatist Tamil Tigers (LTTE) in an attempt to end the ongoing civil war. After these overtures failed, she later pursued a more military-based strategy against them. Read Less FIFTIES Show Less In October 1999, Kumaratunga called an early presidential election. She lost vision in her right eye (permanent optic nerve damage) in an assassination attempt, by the Tamil Tigers, at her final election rally at Colombo Town Hall premises on 18 December 1999. … Read More She managed to defeat Ranil Wickremasinghe in the election held on 21 December and was sworn in for another term the next day. Read Less 2001 56 Years Old In December 2001 she suffered a setback in the parliamentary election: Her People's Alliance lost to the UNP, and her political opponent, Ranil Wickremasinghe, became Sri Lanka's new prime minister.

… Read More She continued as president of Sri Lanka although her relationship with the Wickremasinghe government was a strained one.<br /><br /> In February 2002 Wickremasinghe's government and the LTTE signed a permanent ceasefire agreement, paving the way for talks to end the long-running conflict. In December, the government and the rebels agreed to share power during peace talks in Norway. Read Less 2003 58 Years Old President Kumaratunga believed Wickremasinghe was being too lenient towards the LTTE, and in May 2003 she indicated her willingness to sack the prime minister and government if she felt they were making too many concessions to the rebels. … Read More On 4 November 2003, while Prime Minister Wickremasinghe was on an official visit to the US, Kumaratunga prorogued Parliament and took over Defense, Interior and Media ministries herself. Her opponents criticised her, calling her behaviour dictatorial.<br /><br /> Kumaratunga's PA and the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP (People's Liberation Front) formed the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in January 2004 and dissolved Parliament.

Having won the election held on 2 April 2004 the UPFA formed a government with Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister. This marked the first time in history that the JVP became a partner in a Sri Lankan government.<br /><br /> However, in June 2005, the JVP left Kumaratunga's government over a disagreement regarding a joint mechanism with LTTE rebels sharing foreign aid to rebuild the tsunami-devastated Northern and Eastern areas of Sri Lanka. Kumaratunga's six-year term ended that year. She argued that since the 1999 election had been held one year early, she should be allowed to serve that leftover year. Mahinda Rajapaksa succeeded her as president, leading all 25 parties in the UPFA. Read Less LATE ADULTHOOD 2005 60 Years Old … Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (born 29 June 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the fifth President of Sri Lanka, from 12 November 1994 to 19 November 2005.

Read Less The country's only female president to date, she is the daughter of two former prime ministers and was the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) until the end of 2005. … Read More Born Chandrika Bandaranaike comes from an political family with a long history of socio-political involvement in the country. Her father, Solomon Bandaranaike was a government minister at the time of her birth and later became Prime Minister. Read Less 2008 63 Years Old Chandrika's brother, Anura Bandaranaike is a former Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and a former minister who died in March 2008. 2014 69 Years Old On 21 November 2014 Kumaratunga formally announced her return to active politics at a press conference held by the country's opposition coalition, following weeks of speculation regarding her involvement in the coalition's decision-making. Chandrika married movie star and politician Vijaya Kumaratunga in 1978. He was assassinated on 16 February 1988, outside his residence in the presence of Chandrika and their two children, then aged five and seven.

… Read More The extremist Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) claimed responsibility. Kumaratunga's funeral remains to date, the largest-attended funeral of any politician or film idol in Sri Lanka (and potentially in the whole of Asia). Their two children are Yasodhara Kumaratunga Walker (born 1980), a medical doctor (Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge and St George's Medical School, University of London), and Vimukthi Kumaratunga (born 1982), a veterinary surgeon (University of Bristol), both in the UK. Read Less Original Authors of this text are noted on . United Nations Foundation - Chandrika Kumaratunga: President, Sri Lanka, 1994-2005 Chandrika Kumaratunga: President, Sri Lanka, 1994-2005 Empowering Women Around the World PRINT THIS PAGE Chandrika Kumaratunga: President, Sri Lanka, 1994-2005 Chandrika Kumaratunga, born on June 29, 1945, was the fifth President and the first female President of Sri Lanka.

She served as the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party until the end of 2005. She took up politics in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and in 1974 became an Executive Committee Member of its Women's League. Following the Land Reform in Sri Lanka in 1972- 1976, she was Additional Principal Director of the Land Reform Commission (LRC). She also served in various other capacities during this time, including as Chairman of the Janawasa Commission, which established collective farms, and as a consultant to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). After her husband Vijaya Kumaratunga was assassinated, she left the country for the UK, working for UNU-WIDER (United Nations University-World Institute for Development Economics Research). In 1993, after returning to Sri Lanka, she was elected as the Chief Minister of the Western Province of Sri Lanka in a land slide election victory. Kumaratunga herself was elected Prime Minister of a People's Alliance (PA) government on August 19, 1994 and President in the presidential election held shortly thereafter in November.

Working with the UN Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga Madam President (Best President) - YouTube Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga Madam President (Best President) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Published on Mar 21, 2014 Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (Sinhala: චන්ද්‍රිකා බන්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග,Tamil: சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்க குமாரதுங்க; born 29 June 1945) was the fifth President of Sri Lanka, who served from 12 November 1994 to 19 November 2005. The country's only female president to date, she is the daughter of two former prime ministers and also the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) until the end of 2005.[Born Chandrika Bandaranaike, she comes from an aristocratic family with a long history of socio-political involvement in the country.

Her father, S.W.R.D Bandaranaike was a government minister at the time of her birth and later became Prime Minister. He was assassinated in 1959, when Chandrika was fourteen. Chandrika's mother, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, then became the world's first female prime minister, in 1960. Chandrika's brother, Anura Bandaranaike is a former Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and a former minister who died in March 2008. Her sister Sunethra Bandaranaike is a well-known philanthropist and runs the Sunera Trust. Their grandfather, Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranike, was the Maha Mudaliyar, the chief Ceylonese representative and advisor to the Governor of Ceylon during British colonial rule. Chandrika was educated at the St Bridget's Convent, Colombo. In 1965 she entered the Aquinas University College and gained a scholarship to the University of Paris in 1967[citation needed], where she spent five years, graduating from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) in political science[citation needed].

She also spent a year at Sciences Po Aix.[3][4] While in Paris she obtained a diploma in Group Leadership from the same university[citation needed]. Her PhD studies in Development Economics at the University of Paris[citation needed] were interrupted when she returned to Sri Lanka to enter politics, when her mother's government had launched a wide-ranging programme of socialist reform and development. During her days in France, Chandrika was active in the Student Revolution of 1968[citation needed]. She is fluent in Sinhala, English and French.[5] She married film star and Sri Lankan politician, Vijaya Kumaratunga (also Kumaranatunga), in 1978.pon returning to Sri Lanka, she enrolled in and became active in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and, in 1974, became an executive committee member of its Women's League. Following the land reforms in Sri Lanka in 1972--1976, she was the principal director of the Land Reform Commission. From 1976 to 1977, she was chairman of the Janawasa Commission, which established collective farms.

From 1976 to 1979, she acted as a consultant to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. She stayed active in politics leaving the SLFP and supporting her husband's party, the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party. After Kumaratunga was assassinated[how?], she left the country for the UK, working for World Institute for Development Economics Research at the United Nations University in the interim, and not returning until 1991.On return to Sri Lanka she rejoined SLFP and led her party to a historic and decisive victory at the southern provincial council elections. Kumaratunga was elected as the chief minister of the Western Province of Sri Lanka in 1993 in a landslide election victory. Kumaratunga herself was elected prime minister of a People's Alliance (PA) government from 19 August 1994 and won the presidential election held shortly thereafter in November. This ended 17 years of United National Party rule. She appointed her mother to succeed her as prime minister. Early in her term she made conciliatory moves towards the separatist Tamil Tigers (LTTE) in an attempt to end the ongoing civil war.

After these overtures failed, she later pursued a more military-based strategy against them.In October 1999, Kumaratunga called an early presidential election.[6] Category Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga | Book for Speaking, Events and Appearances Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga For Larger Freedom: Pursuit of Peace in Sri Lanka Biography President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga served as the first woman president of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka during from 1994 to 2005. Born into one of Sri Lanka's most distinguished families, her father, SWRD Bandaranaike, was a senior Minister of the Government and later became the Prime Minister, while her mother, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, became the world's first woman Prime Minister in 1961. Renowned for her energy and intellect, President Kumaratunga inherited the liberal political philosophy of her father. A political activist from her early youth, she established grass root contacts far and wide throughout the country. Greatly influenced by the radical student movement of the 1960s, she has always been deeply committed to the welfare of the deprived, the underprivileged and the disadvantaged.

Her unshakable commitment to the imperatives of a plural society is the other consistent strategy in her approach to politics. During her 1994 election campaign and while in power, President Kumaratunga moved rapidly to accelerate the process of economic liberalization in Sri Lanka and worked to find a solution to the long and bloody war with the Tamils. Educated at the University of Paris, she graduated with a degree in Political Science, and obtained a diploma in Group Leadership. While studying for a PhD in Development Economics, she was called on to serve her country, where her mother's government had launched a wide ranging program of reform and development. In her foray into electoral politics, President Kumaratunga was elected to the Western Provincial Council with an unprecedented majority, and was appointed the Chief Minister of the Province, the country's largest. As a member of the People's Alliance party, she was elected to Parliament by an overwhelming majority, and was appointed Prime Minister in the newly formed People's Alliance government in 1994, ending 17 years of rule by the United National Party. She was then elected President of Sri Lanka with a record 62% of the vote.

Despite her groundbreaking success in life, she experienced many personal tragedies, including the assassination of her father, and of her charismatic husband Wijaya Kumaratunga by political opponents. In 1999 she was injured in a suicide bombing during a campaign rally before her she won a second term. She went on to serve as President until 2005. As an economist, President Kumaratunga has authored research papers, including "The Janawasa Movement: Future Strategies for Development in Sri Lanka.” She has also published “Co-Operative Movement in Sri Lanka,” “Land and Agrarian Reforms in Sri Lanka,” “Food Policies and Strategies in Sri Lanka from 1948 to Date,” and “The State and Social Structures in Sri Lanka.” President Kumaratunga has been a guest lecturer at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and Bradford University in U.K. She was a Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London from 1988 to 1991. Topics Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga COPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc.

Chandrika Kumaratunga In 1994, Sri Lankan voters elected Chandrika Kumaratunga (born 1945) as their first female president, partly with the hope that this daughter of two political veterans might be able to end an interminable and bloody ethnic conflict in the Tamil–dominated northern part of the country. Kumaratunga, whose mother and father both had served as prime ministers of Sri Lanka, has faced seemingly insurmountable difficulties in bringing both sides to the table. Her critics claim that her increasingly autocratic rule has served to only worsen the political quagmire. A New York Times Magazine profile by Celia W. Dugger repeated a common aphorism in modern–day Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital city, which theorizes "that Kumaratunga's father planted the seeds of Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict, that her mother nurtured them and that she has been left to reap the bitter harvest." Politically Aware at Early Age Kumaratunga was born in Colombo on June 29, 1945, when the Indian Ocean island nation was still known as Ceylon. Her father was Solomon W.R.D.

Bandaranaike, an Oxford–educated scion of an elite Sri Lankan family, and he was serving as a government minister at the time of her birth. The country became independent of its longtime colonial ruler, Great Britain, but the new beginning only intensified a centuries–old conflict between the island's two main ethnic groups, the Sinhalese and the Tamil. Sri Lanka's first inhabitants were aboriginal Veddah, but around the sixth century B.C.E. the island began to be settled by Sinhalese, who came from northern India. Tamils, from another coastal part of India, came later, and on the northern part of the island the Tamils managed to maintain their own distinct culture. Clashes between the two groups, with India taking sides and lending military aid, occurred periodically over the centuries. Sri Lanka's contemporary problems are, like many of the world's most intractable ethnic disputes, a legacy of the decisions and policies of colonial rule. After Ceylon became a crown colony of the British empire in 1802, Tamils were given a disproportionate number of well–paying civil–service and professional jobs, though they made up just 20 percent of the island's population.

After independence from Britain was won in 1948, the majority Sinhalese sought to rectify that imbalance. When Kumaratunga's father campaigned for the post of prime minister, for example, he gained political support by calling for an official Sinhalese–only language law. Just after he was elected in 1956, the first genuine street clashes between Sinhalese and Tamil occurred. Tamils are largely Hindu, while Sri Lanka's Sinhalese have been practicing Buddhism since the third century B.C.E. In a twist that illustrates the complexity of the alliances and rivalries that make up the Sri Lankan conflict, Kumaratunga's father was assassinated by a Buddhist monk in 1959. She was 14 years old at the time, and in her convent–school classroom when it occurred. Her newly widowed mother, Sirimavo, emerged as the surprising new leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), which had been founded by Solomon Bandaranaike.

In 1960, a year after the tragedy, Sirimavo Bandaranaike became prime minister and entered the annals of women's history forever: she was the world's first female prime minister. Yet the loss of Kumaratunga's father was also the first of several notorious political murders over the next few decades in Sri Lanka, and it would not be the last to touch her immediate family. Wrote for Le Monde Kumaratunga's mother served until 1965, and returned to power again in 1970 for another seven years as prime minister. Kumaratunga, meanwhile, spent several years abroad, earning a degree in political science from the University of Paris, studying toward a doctorate in development economics, and working for the United Nations. She also worked for the esteemed Le Monde, France's leading political newspaper. Returning to Sri Lanka, she served as chair and managing editor of Dinakara Sinhala, a Sri Lankan daily newspaper, from 1977 to 1985. The first political post that Kumaratunga held came during her mother's second term as prime minister, when she was named to the Land Reforms Commission.

In 1977, the Bandaranaike family lost political power when her mother was ousted by the rival party that year, and they would remain on the sidelines for the next 17 years. What took place during the interim, noted Dugger in the New York Times Magazine, was a "ghastly maturation of a political culture of violence that found ready recruits in the alienated ranks of its educated, unemployed youth, both Tamil and Sinhalese. The country had done a remarkable job of building a literate society, but its state–dominated Socialist economy had failed to produce enough jobs." Another Tragedy The Tamil insurrection in Sri Lanka's north began in earnest in 1983, led mainly by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, commonly called the Tamil Tigers), whose initial aim was to create a separate Tamil homeland in the northeast section of the country. The LTTE went on to wage a particularly ferocious war over the next two decades, and came to enjoy both popular support and some degree of political success despite their tactics.

But the intensified political violence returned once again to Kumaratunga's own home: in 1978, she married film star Vijaya Kumaratunga, with whom she had a son and daughter. In 1984, the couple formed a political party, the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party (SLMP), that took a more conciliatory attitude toward the Tamil separatist movement in its bid to work for some sort of power–sharing arrangement. In February of 1988, Vijaya Kumaratunga was slain by Sinhalese extremists—those drastically opposed to any accord with the Tamils—in front of their home. Kumaratunga witnessed the murder from the doorstep, and ran to her husband, but by the time she reached him, "he had no more head," she told Dugger in the New York Times Magazine article. Kumaratunga fled the turmoil of her country for a time, taking her two young children with her in fear of their safety. She returned in 1990 at her mother's request, and joined forces with the SLFP once more. The party attained some success, and for a time Kumaratunga served as chief minister of Sri Lanka's Western Province.

By then, Sri Lanka's form of government had been constitutionally altered since her father and mother's era, and now had a president–prime minister arrangement similar to France's. In 1994, Kumaratunga's party won the August balloting, which made her the new prime minister. Three months later, she took the presidency as well in a separate election. Like her mother, she achieved a historic first, becoming the first woman president in her nation's history, but she did concede the prime minister post to her mother, as the constitution permitted. Survived Attempt on Her Life During her first six–year term in office, Kumaratunga tried to quell the Tamil insurgency through various negotiation tactics, but these were repeatedly thwarted, and the violence continued. Determined to continue her mission, she campaigned for a second term in 1999. Just days before the December balloting, she was the target of an assassination attempt. Much of it was captured on camera, with footage showing her walking toward her official car after speaking at a campaign rally; an orange flash obscured her, which turned out to be a young female suicide bomber of the LTTE.

The blast sent hundreds of ball bearings into the air, and the next image showed Kumaratunga crouching on the pavement, covered in blood. She lost sight in one eye, and days later won 51 percent of the vote. Delivering her inaugural address with her face bandaged, with the murders of her father and husband still fresh in mind, Kumaratunga told Sri Lankans, "I have suffered our nation's sorrow in every way humanly possible," Dugger quoted her as saying. Kumaratunga's second term in office proved an even tougher test of her mettle, and her office made little progress in curbing the violence during its first two years. In December of 2001, her People's Alliance party, a coalition formed with the SLFP, was trounced in elections by the longtime SLFP rival, the United National Party (UNP). An old childhood friend of hers, Ranil Wickremesinghe, suddenly became prime minister. Wickremesinghe had campaigned on a promise to work toward a peace agreement with the Tamil Tigers, and made progress on it once he took office.

Kumaratunga claimed, however, that Wickremesinghe failed to share crucial information with her office, and even cut secret deals with the rebels that corrupted the peace process entirely. Meanwhile, journalists loyal to the UNP carried out press attacks on her character and fomented gossip about her personal life. Embattled on several sides, Kumaratunga began to take a far more hard line approach to the Tamil strife, and made statements construed by some as inflammatory. Yet Wickremesinghe's government managed to bring the LTTE leadership to the table and arrange a permanent ceasefire agreement between the Tigers and the Sri Lankan forces in 2002. Peace talks, moderated by Norway, were slated to start later that year. The LTTE agreed to give up its demand for a separate state, in return for a measure of autonomy in the predominantly Tamil area. Gave Herself Additional Year In November of 2003, Kumaratunga used her constitutional powers as president and fired three ministers in Wickremesinghe's cabinet. She stationed troops at several government buildings in Colombo and declared a state of emergency.

The event was viewed by some as a clear power play, for Wickremesinghe was out of the country at the time, meeting in Washington with President George W. Bush. Two months later, it was announced that she had actually extended her term in office by one year, with it set to expire in 2006, not 2005. She claimed a second investiture had taken place in 2000, with the chief justice of Sri Lanka and the country's Foreign Minister present. Later in 2004, in the spring, Kumaratunga made another bid to unseat Wickremesinghe, calling for early parliamentary elections, but his party prevailed. She explained why she did so in an interview with Time International's Alex Perry, claiming that new peace talks underway were a "farce" and had been seriously compromised by deals Wickremesinghe had struck in secret. "The Prime Minister was determined to harass me and chase me out," she told Perry. "He has only one obsession: he wants to be the President.

And he does not seem to care what happens to the country in the process." There was some hope that the December 2004 tsunami tragedy might unexpectedly serve to restore some peace to Sri Lanka. Nearly 30,000 in the country died, with scores more left homeless. In a nation of 19 million already permanently rent by ethnic and then political discord, such a natural disaster was a devastating blow to the country's economy, stability, and soul. Not uncharacteristically, both Kumaratunga's government and the LTTE claimed that the other was not distributing incoming international aid in the most efficient manner. Both sides suffered heavy losses to their military forces and equipment, but on the personal level many Tamils and Sinhalese put aside their differences to help one another. News stories reported that Sri Lankan soldiers lined up to donate blood for relief efforts underway in largely Tamil sections, for example. Kumaratunga's own future remained unclear at the beginning of 2005: her term is set to expire in 2006, and she is ineligible to run for the presidency again. She claims to be eager to leave the cutthroat political arena behind.

Her daughter is unlikely to follow in her footsteps and emerge as the third generation of Bandaranaike power; as Kumaratunga told Perry in the Time International article, her daughter cautions her, "I like your soul and your spirit, and all this is killing your soul. Please go out of politics fast." Books The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright The Columbia University Press Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (chŭn´drēkə bändränī´kē kōōmär´ətŏŏng´gə), 1945–, Sri Lankan politician, president of Sri Lanka (1994–2005). The daughter of two former prime ministers, the assassinated (1959) Solomon Bandaranaike and his wife, Sirimavo Bandaranaike , and the widow of Vijaya Kumartunga, another slain (1988) political leader, she is an economist and a member of the People's Alliance (PA) party.

In 1994 she became chief minister of Sri Lanka's Western Province and, after the PA's election victory ended 17 years of rule by the United National party, became prime minister of Sri Lanka. Later in 1994 she was elected president, and her mother succeeded her as prime minister. In 1999 she was injured in a suicide bombing during a campaign rally; she won a second term by a narrow margin. Kumaratunga worked unsuccessfully to find a solution to the long and bloody war with the Tamils, but after the United National party won control of parliament in late 2001 she opposed its attempts to resolve the war. Cite this article Chandrika Kumaratunga biography, Early life and education, Political Chandrika Kumaratunga : biography 29 June 1945 - Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (; born 29 June 1945) was the 5th President of Sri Lanka, serving from 12 November 1994 to 19 November 2005.

The daughter of two former Prime Ministers, she was also the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) until the end of 2005. She is Sri Lanka's only female president to date. Early life and education Born Chandrika Bandaranaike, she hales from an aristocratic family that has a long history in the socio-political arena of the country, her father, S.W.R.D Bandaranaike was a government minister at the time of her birth and later became Prime Minister. He was assassinated in 1959, when Chandrika was fourteen. Chandrika's mother, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, then became the world's first female prime minister (1960). Her brother, Anura Bandaranaike, was a former Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and a former minister. Her grandfather, Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranike, was the Maha Mudaliyar, (the chief Ceylonese representative and advisor to the Governor of Ceylon) during British colonial rule.

Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) Sciences Po Aix She married film star and Sri Lankan politician, Vijaya Kumaratunga (also Kumaranatunga), in 1978. Political career After returning to Sri Lanka, she took up politics in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and, in 1974, became an Executive Committee member of its Women's League. Following the land reforms in Sri Lanka from 1972–1976. She was the principal director of the Land Reform Commission. From 1976–1977, she was chairman of the Janawasa Commission, which established collective farms. From 1976–1979, she acted as a consultant to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. She stayed in active politics supporting her husband's party, the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party, by leaving the SLFP. After Kumaratunga was assassinated, she left the country for the United Kingdom, working for World Institute for Development Economics Research at the United Nations University in the interim, and not returning till 1991.

Family life Chandrika married movie star and politician Vijaya Kumaratunga in 1978. Vijaya Kumaratunga was assassinated on 16 February 1988, outside his residence in the presence of Chandrika and their two children then aged 5 years and 7 years. The extremist Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) claimed responsibility for this act. Vijaya Kumaratunga's funeral, remains to date, the largest attended funeral of any politician or film idol in Sri Lanka (and potentially in the whole of Asia). Their two children Yasodhara Kumaratunga Walker (born 1980) is a Medical Doctor (Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge and St George's Medical School, University of London) and Vimukthi Kumaratunga (born 1982) is a Veterinary Surgeon University of Bristol, UK .President Kumaratunga's sister Sunethra Bandaranaike is a well known philanthropist and runs the Sunera Trust. Her brother Anura Bandaranaike died in March 2008.

Aftermath of presidency Kumaratunga is a member of the Club of Madrid, an organization of more than 80 former Presidents and Prime Ministers of democratic countries, which works to promote democratic governance and leadership worldwide. Kumaratunga noted recently in 2007 "I sincerely tried to reach a political consensus to solve the ethnic question, and tried to introduce a pluralistic constitution that would cater to the political aspirations of the Tamil people without dividing the country". On September 2009, Kumaratunga, was on a personal visit to Kerala, India told reporters "I too care for my life. Even though the current government is a government of my party (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) I don't feel safe,". "There is an overall lack of freedom and an atmosphere of fear prevails in the country.The basic rights of the people and media freedom are restricted in Sri Lanka" Chandrika Kumaratunga is a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that offers, discreetly and confidentially, a range of experienced advisors to political leaders facing difficult situations.

The Global Leadership Foundation works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, the experience of former leaders to today’s national leaders. It is a not-for-profit organisation composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organization officials who work closely with Heads of Government on governance-related issues of concern to them. Chandrika Kumaratunga News | Quotes | Wiki - UPI.com Chandrika Kumaratunga News Next Wiki Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (Sinhala: චන්ද්‍රිකා බන්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග) born June 29, 1945) was the 4th Executive president of Sri Lanka, serving from November 12, 1994 to November 19, 2005.

The daughter of two former Prime Ministers, she was also the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party until end of 2005. She is Sri Lanka's only female president to date. Hailing from one of the most prestigious aristocratic families that has a long history in the socio-political arena of the country, her father, S.W.R.D Bandaranaike was a government minister at the time of her birth and later became Prime Minister. He was assassinated in 1959, when Chandrika was fourteen. Chandrika's mother, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, then became the world's first female prime minister in 1960 and her brother Anura Bandaranaike was a former Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and a former minister. Her grandfather, Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranike was the Maha Mudaliyar, (the chief Ceylonese representative and advisor to the Governor) during British colonial rule.

She was educated at the St Bridget's Convent, Colombo and in 1965 she entered the Aquinas University College and gained a scholarship to the University of Paris in 1967, where she spent five years, graduating from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Science Po) in political science. While in Paris she obtained a Diploma in Group Leadership from the same University.Her Ph.D studies in Development Economics at the University of Paris were interrupted when she returned to Sri Lanka to enter politics, where her mother’s government had launched a wide ranging programme of socialist reform and development. During her days in France, she was active in the Student Revolution of 1968. She is fluent in Sinhala, English and French. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License . It uses material from the Wikipedia article " Chandrika Kumaratunga ." Quotes Female Heads of State | Modern Women in Power in Asia Read a full biography of Benazir Bhutto here. More » U.S.

State Department via Wikipedia • Chandrika Kumaranatunga, Sri Lanka As the daughter of two former prime ministers, including Sirimavo Bandaranaike (listed above), Sri Lankan Chandrika Kumaranatunga (1945-present) was steeped in politics from an early age. Chandrika was just fourteen when her father was assassinated; her mother then stepped into party leadership, becoming the world's first female prime minister. In 1988, a Marxist assassinated Chandrika Kumaranatunga's husband Vijaya, a popular film actor and politician. The widowed Chandrika left Sri Lanka for some time, working for the United Nations in the UK, but returned in 1991. She served as President of Sri Lanka from 1994 to 2005, and proved instrumental in ending the long-running Sri Lankan Civil War between ethnic Sinhalese and Tamils . Carsten Koall / Getty Images • Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh As with many of the other leaders on this list, Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh (1947-present) is the daughter of a former national leader.

Her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was the first president of Bangladesh, which broke away from Pakistan in 1971. Sheikh Hasina has served two terms as Prime Minister, from 1996 to 2001, and from 2009 to the present. Much like Benazir Bhutto, Sheikh Hasina was charged with crimes including corruption and murder, but managed to regain her political stature and reputation. Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images • Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (1947-present) served as the fourteenth president of the Philippines between 2001 and 2010. She is the daughter of ninth president Diosdado Macapagal, who was in office from 1961 to 1965. Arroyo served as vice president under President Joseph Estrada, who was forced to resign in 2001 for corruption. She became president, running as an opposition candidate against Estrada. After serving as president for ten years, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo won a seat in the House of Representatives.

However, she was accused of electoral fraud and jailed in 2011. As of this writing, she is in both prison and the House of Representatives, where she represents the 2nd District of Pampanga. Dimas Ardian / Getty Images • Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesia Megawati Sukarnoputri (1947-present), is the eldest daughter of Sukarno , the first president of Indonesia . Megawati served as president of the archipelago from 2001 to 2004; she has run against Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono twice since then, but has lost both times. Pratibha Patil, President of India. Chris Jackson / Getty Images • Pratibha Patil, India After a long career in law and politics, Indian National Congress member Pratibha Patil was sworn into office for a five-year term as the president of India in 2007. Patil has long been an ally of the powerful Nehru/Gandhi dynasty (see Indira Gandhi, above), but is not herself descended from political parents.

Pratibha Patil is the first woman to serve as president of India. The BBC called her election "a landmark for women in a country where millions routinely face violence, discrimation and poverty." Prev

Question: Chandrika Kumaratunga was the first female President of which Asian country from 1994 to 2005?
Answer: Sri Lanka